Why I did not sign Simi, Falz, Teni to Mavin Records ― Don Jazzy

Don Jazzy

 Mavin Records boss, Don Jazzy, has revealed that one of the regrets he has in life is that he did not sign rap artiste, Falz, and singers ― Simi and Teni ― to his record label years ago.  

In the second part of his Black Box Interview with Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, Don Jazzy said things didn’t work out between Falz and Mavin as the singer was affiliated with another manager.

He said, “Regrets? I wish I signed Falz and Simi. Of course, the opportunity came; don’t say I turned them down. For Falz, the working situation wasn’t just right. I run a firm that could handle almost everything he needed.

“But I think he had like a management company set up already. It was like Tiwa Savage’s but I had to grow into that kind of scenario where I had to handle someone that had a record label, some blueprint process.”

Don Jazzy noted that he did not reject signing popular singer, Simi, who partook in a Twitter contest where she did a cover for the song, ‘Journey of A Thousand Miles’, a record by D’Prince featuring Wande Coal.

“I didn’t reject Simi. I did a Twitter contest for ‘Journey of A Thousand Miles’ ― D’Prince’s record featuring Wande Coal. I loved her cover. She was one of the people that participated. She didn’t win, but she was high up there.

“I didn’t pick the winners. I liked her but you can’t sign anybody. That’s one person I also regretted; I won’t say regret, but I wish we worked on stuff together,” Don Jazzy said.

Speaking of sonorous singer, Teni, the beatmaker said, “The same thing with Teni. We used to check up on each other. I had not grown to the point that I would move you from Atlanta to Nigeria for work. Now I can and we work before deciding if we are going to sign. Before I knew what was happening, there were faster people

“She released records and I was like, ‘okay, we lost that one’. Three hot stars. It happened. The only person is David. I didn’t want to sign him but I knew he was going to be huge. They have money already now.”

The iconic music producer also revealed that he has some budding talents which he is training and would only ‘activate’ them when they get to his standard.

“Apart from the activated artistes, I have some artistes that you people don’t know. Ayra Star was in the academy before I activated her. In the academy, you grow under the radar, work in the studio with my producers,” he added.

“It’s like a football academy. Not everyone there will play premiership. You work. There are 16, 17 and 18-year-olds from different parts of the country. They’re already earning money while working. So, they’re comfortable.

“There are 50 of them, so far. If you don’t make it into the major leagues, you don’t owe me. The kind of songs you put out, how you blend with the team and the market demand for your song are what determine if you make it.

“You might see them on social media releasing their music but you won’t know whether they’re Mavin Academy or not. I can’t just choose blindly. I need to see even your aunty or neighbour praising you before I can put money.

“It takes a lot but let me see you working hard enough to convince your audience you have talent because when people get signed with a major label, they become complacent. But that’s only where the journey begins.”